Reality Escape
by Zyuette H
Summary: Gale Hawthorne, for the first time, experiences a break-through of his stereotypical vision about what escape really means and what person Madge Undersee really is. One-shot.


Nocturnal birds shattered the silence of the night, taking over the peaceful expanse with their loud melody. Though loud, it wasn't unpleasant. The notes jingling among various birds, made up a symphony of its own. Rushing water of the river and rustling leaves integrated themselves into the natural orchestra that presented itself around Gale Hawthorne.

For that sole reason, he had made this journey, far into the woods. The blaring yet peaceful and serene melody helped him calm his frantic nerves down. As if, breathing life back into him. Little does his family know, as well as Katniss, about his midnight escapade into the woods. It was once in a while thing. Escaping, that is. When the reality was too much to bear altogether, he would sneek through the backdoor when he assumed that his mother thought he was asleep in his room and make his way to the woods hiding in the shadows for the fear of getting caught by a Peacekeeper.

He thought it was the woods, the nature and the openess, the freedom of it all, that calmed him down. It was, but not to the extent he thought it did. Little did he know, it was the music that accompanied the silence of the night that was the key to unravelling all the pains he beared. Being the calculated person he was, he had a stereotypical view of everything. One was of woods being his only means of escape from the harsh reality.

Though it pained him to get back to the district, to the captivity of the Capitol, he had no choice but. His family was his priority and he didn't plan on backing down on them in anyway, no matter what it cost to him.

Painstakingly, he pulled himself up and started to walk back towards the fence. A war of thoughts waged on in his mind whether or not to take the long way back home. Ultimately, deciding on going the long way, he took to the meadows of District 12.

The meadows happened to be on the other side of the district, which made it a walk as wide as the district itself. Not to mention, it was a walk through the town. Usually, he hated the sounds of the word 'town', let alone venture through it. But he decided to go for it, since no single soul would present itself at this hour of the night.

Quickly scurrying under the fences, he began his walk through the town. A scowl immediately took its place on his features before he actually entered the town area. The mayor's majestic mansion being its purpose. It completely escaped his mind that the mayor had his mansion build on the edge of the woods, along the meadows on the outskirts of district. But it was a little too late for him to turn back and take another route to his house. He had made a wrong decision and now he has to live by it.

Grudgingly, he started his walk back to his house. Though he didn't particularly lurk much in this part of the town at night, something seemed out of place. Gale wanted to smack himself for this insight. Obviously everything was wrong in this part of the district. This very part defined the Capitol. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to think that. Something was definetly off.

His hunter skills brought him up to the faint noise that seem to reside over the area. At first, he dismissed it as the whistling of the wind but soon decided against it. It was too organised to be the wild music the wind bore. Curiosity took the better of him and soon he found himself on the mayor's backdoor, pressing into the mahogany door , straining his ears to reach the source of the sound. It was definetly coming from the mayor's house. Making his way a bit more to the right, he found himself peering through the window looking straight at the mayor's daughter playing on her precious piano at late night.

It enraged him to the point that he could burst through the door and thrash the piano down. The fact that they can afford a piano for their daughter when all he can afford for Posy was a second hand rag doll while trading at the Hob. He could feel the toxic rage bubbling up inside him as he kept himself from running to the sanctuary of the woods.

But the rage disappeared as soon as it appeared, dissolving into the abyss of the melody that seemed to radiate in all directions. He watched, mesmerized as the mayor's daughter skimmed her fingers up and down the keys, going high and low on the scale, skillfully and in a way, tactfully. Her long fingures aiding her, more than it every did in her daily life. He got caught up in watching her fingers glide across the keys. The tune they coaxed out of the instrument was far more soothing than the melody the noctural birds could congure. And for the first time, something broke through Gale's stereotypical vision of the world.

He felt free inside the fences of District 12.

It was hard for him to believe, but yet he did feel relieved, as if he was back in the woods. It did not strike him that the mayor's daughter herself was in the middle of her escapade from the harsh reality. Losing herself in tones so soft and calm was her kind of escape from this captivity. Her escape from the suffocation of living a prim and proper life of mayor's daughter, setting up an example for everyone to see. It took him awhile to breakout of his stupor to actually figure that out. Seeing her face contort into pain, as soon as she stopped playing, confirmed his suspicions. The mayor's daughter herself was stuck deep in this mess, may be even more than he will ever been in. He wondered what kind of harsh reality she did have to face everyday and vowed to learn about it as he took in her grief stricken face. And for the second time, Gale found himself backtracking on his insight on the ways, he thought, the world ran.

Leaving her to her means of escape, he had meant to sneek off towards his house, going unnoticed. But one step back and the snap of the twig could be heard all around the district. Instantly on guard, Madge Undersee whirled around only to see a faint shadow pass by her window.

Never have she ever been so surprised, so scared and so embarrased. Someone has definelty seen her play and she couldn't bring herself to calm down. She rushed to the back door, peering towards the town, meaning to identify the mystery person but only catching the shadow of a person, tall in stature and walking back deep into the town, which could only be the way to the Seam.

But that was enough for Madge to identify who the person was. There could only be one person in the entire Panem to have such tall stature and the courage to venture out and about in the district at such late night. And before she could stop herself, a smile graced her feature as she went back to her piano bench to tap out another melody.

Picking up his pace towards the Seam, he could hear the beginnings of a new melody and couldn't help but smile at the obviousness of it all. The Harvest Festival music. The day of celebrations, the day of happiness in this world of pitch dark sadness.

And in a way, the day of freedom from their regular starvation driven life.

He, somehow, did make a relevance between the situation and the music and smiled at the fact that Madge Undersee has recognised the intruder who broke through her dreams. And seeing as it didn't hurt her at all, and had quite the opposite reaction from her, he felt strangely happy. He was glad he took this way to go home.

It wasn't a wrong decision after all.

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A/N:- This is the first time I am writting a Gadge fanfic so please be easy on me... Constructive critisism is welcomed. Please dont hesistate to voice out your opinions just in case you dont like a particular part.

Arigatou Gozaimashita!


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